The Clause

Since I am an avid Michael Phelps fan, it comes with no surprise that I was disappointed to read about his recent scandal involving a photo of him inhaling from a marijuana pipe at a college house party back in Nov. 2008. On Thursday Feb. 6, USA Swimming—the sport’s national governing body—suspended Phelps from competition for three months. And to make matters worse, the Kellogg Co. announced they would not renew Phelps’ sponsorship contract stating his behavior is not, “consistent with the image of Kellogg.”

After trouncing the competition and winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics Phelps became a household name and an American hero to many. Now with two public judgment errors under his belt—(an underage Phelps was caught driving under the influence after the 2004 Athens games but charges were dropped)—does it alter our view of the swimming sensation? Do we admire Phelps and other celebrities for their performance over their character?

It seems like every week a new story regarding celebrities and their use of illegal drugs make headlines. I see these covers so often I feel like it doesn’t faze me anymore. But it should faze me. Marijuana is illegal and the idea of a well-respected Olympic athlete lighting up should matter to me. Maybe I’m a little apathetic because it doesn’t directly relate to me—none of my close friends smoke pot and I have no urge to ever be around it. Treating the use of weed and other illegal drugs like it’s no big deal shows how society is today. And that’s scary.

Phelps is just one of many prominent celebrities who has been linked to the use of illegal drugs. Take Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain for example. Both were highly successful American rock stars and had drug addictions that eventually contributed to their demise. Today, people still revere them for their musical talent and entertaining ability, but it’s interesting how few remember them for their character.

Now, there are also times when the public judges a celebrity mainly on their character and not what they’ve accomplished. Case-in-point: Barry Bonds. Despite Bond’s all-time Major League Baseball home run record 762, many people are more concerned with his alleged use of steroids rather than his home run triumph.

Another example is actor Christian Bale. Last week, Bale was caught on audio tape in the middle of an F-bomb meltdown with a crewmember on the set of his new movie. This isn’t the first time we’ve caught wind of Bale’s ill-mannered tirades. Last summer Bale was arrested for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister in London. Bale denied the accusations and he was not charged. But with all the hype of The Dark Knight, it seemed the public was more fixated on his remarkable performance as Batman rather than his character.

It’s time to face the music. Whether we are aware of it or not, we tend to view celebrities as if they are not human—they are not allowed to make mistakes. We expect them to look, act, and feel perfect all the time. Life does become a bit exhausting in the fast lane and celebrities often find themselves walking on egg shells in hopes of appealing to all.

One slip up at the wrong time is all it takes for the media to jump on the story like a pack of wild hyenas and tarnish a celebrity’s “pristine” reputation. Is this right from a Christian or moral worldview?

I believe everyone, not just celebrities, should be living to know that they impact others. It’s not right to praise and turn celebrities into golden idols only to kick them to the curb the minute they fall.

Shouldn’t we be treating celebrities like they’re human long before they travel down a road of self-destruction?

Just because a celebrity makes a mistake, doesn’t mean we should throw out everything they’ve accomplished. Instead, we should forgive them, but not condone their actions. In the case of Phelps, his actions let down his fans and he will need to deal with the consequences. It doesn’t, however, change the fact that he’s worked tremendously hard to get where he’s at and that he’s an amphibian in the water.

Let’s stop crucifying celebrities the minute they make mistakes. Let’s be slow to speak and quick to forgive.

Celebrities may have more money, fame and accolades than most of us ever will, but at the end of the day they stumble just like you and I.